Businesses and other enterprises often use a variety of electronic devices such as computers, databases, data storage devices, communications devices, telecommunications equipment, and/or mobile devices. These electronic devices can be used to create, manipulate, store, and/or transmit data. These applications of electronic devices are often referred to as Information Technology (IT). In order to effectively manage the large number of IT applications and devices, many large enterprises have a team of personnel dedicated to network administration, software development, software maintenance, software installation, hardware deployment, hardware maintenance, and other services.
As the demands for the use of various technologies evolve, there have been increasing burdens placed on the support and management of these systems. Moreover, the ongoing evolution of IT as a recognized business differentiator has been a major factor in driving ever increasing industry investment and innovation. Further, the evolution of IT has made it difficult for the end users or consumers of the technology to keep abreast of technological advancements. The resulting diversity of technology solutions combined with increasing demand from technology users has produced an unprecedented pressure on the enterprise to manage its technology assets and services as a core business. Like any other business, IT needs to provide its “clients” with the “products” and “services” they demand with agility, cost transparency, efficiency, and abstraction from technical complexity.